Cigar-lighter



Dec. 7, 1937. A. JOHNSON 2,101,336

CIGAR LIGHTER Original Filed Jan. 9, 1929 WQQ Patented Dec. 7, 1937UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CIGAR-LIGHTER Application January 9,

1929, Serial No. 331,163

Renewed May 5, 1937 Claims.

This invention relates to cigar-lighters, and more particularly to thetype of cigar-lighter in which the igniting unit is supported on aholder to be brought to incandescence while so supported 5 and to becompletely removable for use.

Heretofore, it has been proposed thatthe heating element of the ignitingunit be so mounted therein as to be invisible and inaccessible whilesupported on the holding device.

An object of this invention is to provide a cigarlighter which has theadvantages of the concealed device above referred to but which has theadded advantage that while the heating element is normally invisible, itmay be viewed when brought to incandescence while supported on theholding device, whereby the user may ascertain whether or not theheating element is being brought to incandescence, and if so, to whatdegree of,incandescence it has been brought.

This ,object is attainedby the present invention in the form hereinillustrated as exemplary thereof, by providing the supporting means forthe heating coil so that the coil may be viewed from either the obverseor reverse sides of the supporting means and by providing a window inthe body of the igniting unit which normally does not permit enoughlight from the exterior of the device to enter the body wherein the heating coil is located to make the latter visible, but which does passsufficient light from the interior when the heating coil is incandescentto permit the incandescing coil to be seen.

Thus with the device of the present invention, the operator need notremove the igniting unit from the holding device to determine whether ornot it is sufiiciently hot for his purpose, but may observe this throughthe window and remove the igniting unit when it is ready for use.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawing, which shows one form of the presentinvention, that at present preferred- Figure 1 is a sectional view ofthe supporting structure, the holding device and the igniting unit of acigar-lighter made in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the obverse side of the heating coil and itssupporting member.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a front view of the igniting unit, showing the way it appearswhen the heating element has been brought to incandescence,

55 The device of the present invention illustrated is particularlyadapted for use on a motor vehicle and comprises a holding device and aremovable igniting unit. The former, in the form shown herein, comprisesa post M which has a flange l 5 and a screw-threaded rod H which, afterbeing passed through a hole provided in the instrument board 6 toreceive it, is adapted to receive a washer I 8 and a nut l9 by thetightening of which the flange I5 is drawn firmly against the instrumentboard it to securely fasten the holding device thereto. The holdingdevice also comprises a cap 26 adapted to telescopically slide upon aflange 2| on the post M and is held thereon against removal by the endof the cap being spun or peened over to engage the edge of the flange2|. Interposed between the end of the cap 20 and the forward end of theflange 2|, is a coil spring 22 which holds the cap 20 normally in theposition shown in Fig. 1, with the peened over end of the cap inengagement with the flange 2i.

The holding device has two contacts adapted to be engaged by cooperatingcontacts on the removable igniting unit. One of these contacts isconstituted by the cap 20, while the other is a contact 23 centrallylocated on the end of the cap 20 and insulated therefrom. Normally, thecontact 23 is dead, 1. e. does not carry current, for it is out ofengagement with a live contact 24 carried by an insulating sleeve 25forced into a hole in the end of the post I 4 and electrically connectedto a feed wire 26 leading to a source of When the igniting unit issupported on the cap 20 and the latter, through the medium of theigniting unit, is slid by hand toward the instrument board, a contact 21connected with the contact 23 is moved into engagement with the livecontact 24, thus causing current to flow to the removable igniting unit.Upon release of the pressure on the cap 23, the spring 22 returns thecap to normal position, opening the circuit leading to the igniting unitby causing a gap to occur between the live contact 24 and the contact 21of the normally dead contact 23 on the holding device.

The igniting unit shown includes a heating element, in the form of aspiral coil of high resistance wire 28 supported on a disk 29 of mica,or other suitable material, which in turn is carried by a perforatedmetal disk 30. The outer end of the heating element coil is secured tothe metal disk 30 at 3| while the inner end is pinched in a transverseslot in the end of the metal pin 32 which extends. through the mica disk'29 and the metal disk 30 and receives a nut after the insertion ofinsulated material 33 between the pin and the plate 36.

This heating element 28 is mounted in a body member 34 which comprisestwo parts 34a and 342), said parts being provided with cooperatinscrew-threads 35 by means of which they are held together. The part 34aof the body has a central bore 36 extending through it from end to end,while in the part 3417 there is provided a chamber 31 and an end wall38. This central bore 36 and chamber 3'! forms a cavity which is open atone end 39 of the body and closed at the other end by the wall 38. Theheating coil 28 is located within this cavity and is held in placeadjacent the inner end of the bore 36 in the part 34a by the clampingaction resulting from the tightening of the screw-threads 35 when theparts 34a and 341) are assembled in a manner more fully'explained below.The central bore 33 in the part 34a. is so shaped as to permit theinsertion of the end of a cigaror cigarette which may thus be broughtinto direct contact with the 'coilrof wire 28 of the heating element,for the latter'is placed in the cavity so as to face the end 39' of thebody. The part 341) also constitutes a shield to prevent draughts of airfrom quickly cooling ofi the heating element and also acts as an ashguard to catch any ashes that may fall off a' cigar or cigarette in theact of reigniting the same. 7

In order to conceal the heating element from view, it is mounted on theholding device so that the end 39 of the body lies adjacent to the,instrument board l6 while the end wall '38 of the body faces personssitting in the car.

The mounting of the removable igniting unit to obtain these results is,according to the invention disclosed in an application of Joseph H.Cohen, Serial No. 304,746, filed September 8th, 1928, now Patent No.1,710,348, dated April 23, 1929 accomplished by shaping the bore 36 inthe body so that the post I4 and cap 20 may enter the same and engagebearing surfaces provided on the wall of the. cavity. These bearingsurfaces may be constituted by the internal wall of the part 34a itself,if desired. Preferably, and in order that the removable igniting unitmay be frictionally held on the cap 20' of the holding device againstaccidental removal, the cavity 33 is made slightly oversize and there isinterposed between the cap 20 and the internal wall of the part 34a aslit sleeve 40 of springy material and so biased as to tend to move awayfrom the internal wall of the part 34w. This sleeve 48 is provided witha flange 4! adapted to engage the disk 30 of the heating element,

The heating element, in addition to the disk,

30, is provided with a spider 42 having a central portion insertedbetween the insulation 33 and the disk 30 and making electrical cont-actwith.

the latter. The arms of the spider are of such length that when theheating element is placed in the chamber or cavity 36, the arms engage acircumferential shoulder 43 on the part 34b.

5 Hence, when the part 34a is screwed in place, the

removable igniting unit is placed on the cap 20 of the holding device,oppositesides of the sleeve 40 7 yield and engage the surface of. thecap 20 with suiiicient pressure to hold the igniting unit there- Theremovable igniting unit has two contacts adapted to continuouslyengagetwo contacts on the holding device when the igniting unit is slid homeon the cap as far as it will go without moving the cap. One of thesecontacts is constituted by the slit sleeve 40 which engages the cap 23on the post i4 and the other is the pin 32 which holds the center of theheating coil and which engages the contact 23 on the cap 20. Thus itwill be seen that in addition to serving as the bearing surface for theremovable igniting unit, the slit sleeve 4!] also constitutes one of thecontacts of the removable igniting unit.

In order to provide for guiding the end of the cigar or cigarette to theheating element, the

end 39 of the part 34a has a bevelled suriace' and the end of the sleeve40 is belled out slightly so as to be coextensive with said bevelledsurface. To prevent a cigar or cigarette from catching on the end of thesleeve, the body part 34a. is provided with a shoulder or under-cutbehind which lies the end of the sleeve.

In using the device, the operator may grasp it by hand obtainingpurchase in the circumferential groove of the body 34, or he may pushdirectly on the wall 38 with his fingers. If the former method isemployed, however, the position of the igniting unitneed not be changedin the users hand, for it may be slid off the cap 20 and then the handmay be turned to bring it against a cigar orcigarette held in the mouthready to be ignited.

In the device shown in the prior application 7 To accomplish this, thepresent invention pro- 7 vides in the end wall 38 of the body 34, awindow 44 which is preferably, although not essentially, made of glass.This window is of such size or of such thickness or of such color thatinsufiicient light passes through it from the exterior of the body toilluminate the interior and permit it to be seen.

To further accomplish the object of this invention, the heating'elementis so arranged and formed that the heating coil 28 may be viewed fromeither the observe side (shown in Fig." 2) or the reverse side (shown inFig, 3) of the heating element. To do this, the insulating disk 29 ispreferably'made of transparent mica, and the disk 36 is provided withone or more sight-openings 45; and, likewise, the arms of the spider 42are cut-away at 43, or initially so formed, as to avoid materially.obstructing the passage of light emanating from the heating coil throughthe sight-opening 45.

As stated above, normally the interior of the body is invisible, forsufiicient light does not enter the body through the window 44. When,however,-the heating coil 28 is brought to incandescence, sufiicientlight is produced thereby to permit the outlines of the convolutions ofthe coil to be seen through the window 44, as indicated in Fig- 4. Inthis way, the progress of the coil in becoming incandescent maybewatched. Moreover, the degree of incandescence to which the heating coilhas beenbrought may be determined by observing the appearance of thecoil through the window.

Of course, if desired, the front portion of the wall 38 in the part 34bmay be itself made of transparent material such as a phenol-condensationproduct. However, when a separate glass is employed, as is shown, it ispreferable that it be provided with a bezel 41 which holds it in place.

The window may be plain, or it may be in the form of a lens capable ofmagnifying the appearance of the incandescent heating coil, so that itmay be seen for a greater distance and from a more oblique angle.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of thisinvention and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and forwhich it is desired to obtain Letters-Patent, is:--

1. A cigar-lighter heating element comprising a coil of high resistancewire adapted to be brought to incandescence when connected to a suitablesource of current, and a metal disk on which said coil is supported, anda spider attached to said disk, said spider and disk having asightopening therein so that the degree of incandescence of the coil maybe ascertained whether the disk is viewed from the obverse side on whichthe coil is supported or from the reverse side.

2. A cigar lighter comprising a coil of high resistance wire adapted tobe brought to incandescence when connected to a suitable source ofcurrent; a metal disk on which said coil is supported; and a spider-likemember attached to said disk, said spider-like member and disk havingthe sight opening therein so that the degree of incandescence of thecoil may be ascertained whether the disk is viewed from the obverse sideon which the coil is supported or from the reverse side.

3. A cigar lighter comprising a coil of high resistance wire adapted tobe brought to incandescence when connected to a suitable source ofcurrent; a disk on which said coil is supported and a spider attached tosaid disk, said spider and disk having sight openings therein so thatthe degree of incandescence of the coil may be ascertained whether thedisk is viewed from the obverse side on which the coil is supported orfrom the reverse side.

4. A cigar lighter comprising a coil of high resistance wire adapted tobe brought to incandescence when connected to a suitable source ofcurrent; a spider-like member attached to said coil to support the same,said spider-like member having a sight opening therein so that thedegree of incandescence of the coil may be ascertained whether the diskis viewed from the obverse side on which the coil is supported or fromthe reverse side.

5. A cigar lighter comprising a coil of high resistance wire adapted tobe brought to incandescence when connected to a suitable source ofcurrent; a spider-like member attached to said coil to support the same,said spider-like member having a sight opening therein so that thedegree or" incandescence of the coil may be ascertained whether the diskis viewed from the obverse side on which the coil is supported or fromthe reverse side; and a lens mounted thereon to receive the lightpassing through the sight openings.

ARTHUR A. JOHNSON.

